Woman has half her face removed after doctor mistakes cancer for hayfever

A young British woman had to have half of her face removed after severe nosebleeds that were misdiagnosed as hayfever turned out to be cancer, news.com.au reported.

Six months after finding a strawberry-size tumor in her nose, Jannine McHaffie, 25, was diagnosed with a rare type of oral cancer that affects the salivary glands. She had to have her upper teeth, palate bone, top right jaw, and parts of her cheek bones removed in a 13-hour operation in May.

Surgeons had to remove a bone from her leg to rebuild her missing facial features. The woman, of Chelmsford, Essex, in the eastern part of the United Kingdom, was diagnosed with adenoids cystic carcinoma (ACC) in February.

Once she heals from surgery, McHaffie will require monthly radiotherapy.

The next step for the mother of one will be a minor surgery to fix a small hole on the roof of her mouth.

“My little girl has been my main focus to get through everything. Little does she know, she’s getting mummy through every day,” she told news.com.au.